Screw conveyor steamer for scallop processing

ABSTRACT

In order to cleanse scallops of dirt, barnacles and the like, and kill bacteria, scallops, still in their shells, are conveyed into a hopper. The hopper is in communication with a screw conveyor inside a perforated cylinder which conveys the scallops to further processing apparatus. The speed of rotation of the conveyor is controlled by a variable speed hydraulic motor. Steam, at a temperature from 215* to 240* F. is piped into an insulated jacket which surrounds a cylinder having holes uniformly disposed about its surface. The perforated cylinder, in turn, surrounds the screw conveyor which permits the steam to contact the scallops in a 360* pattern and thus effectively perform the intended cleansing and sanitizing functions.

United States Patent [191 Martin SCREW CONVEYOR STEAMER FOR SCALLOPPROCESSING [75] Inventor: Roger C. Martin, Cocoa Beach, Fla.

[73] Assignee: Edgar E. Griffis, Brevard County,

Fla. a part interest [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,317,898 10/1919 Shepard 134/132 1,435,285 11/1922 Foster et a1 134/65FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 489,668 l/l930 Germany 134/132 May 21,1974 468,184 3/1969 Switzerland 134/65 Primary Examiner-Edward L.Roberts Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Herman, Bishoff & Platt [5 7] ABSTRACTIn order to cleanse scallops of dirt, barnacles and the like, and killbacteria, scallops, still in their shells, are conveyed into a hopper.The hopper is in communication with a screw conveyor inside a perforatedcylinder which conveys the scallops to further processing apparatus. Thespeed of rotation of the conveyor is controlled by a variable speedhydraulic motor. Steam, at a temperature from 215 to 240 F. is pipedinto an insulated jacket which surrounds a cylinder having holesuniformly disposed about its surface. The perforated cylinder, in turn,surrounds the screw conveyor which permits the steam to contact thescallops in a 360 pattern and thus effectively perform the intendedcleansing and sanitizing functions.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SCREW CONVEYOR STEAMER FOR SCALLOPPROCESSING This invention relates generally to food processing and moregenerally relates to the processing of scallops or other bivalves ormollusks.

It has been found that in order to efficiently process scallops as theyare brought to dockside from boats, it is necessary to provide a way ofremoving dirt, bamacles and the like from the outer surface of theshellfish while at the same time killing the bacteria which could leadto harmful contamination. At the present time, no known commercialscallop processing apparatus effectively provides such a cleansing andsterilizing operation.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideapparatus for effectively cleansing and sterilizing the outer surface ofshellfish.

A further and more specific object of the present invention is toprovide apparatus for effectively cleansing and sterilizing the outersurface of shellfish while at the same time conveying the shellfish tofurther processing apparatus.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus ofthe character described wherein the loosened debris is efficientlycarried away from the processing apparatus so that it will not furthercontaminate the system.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be readily appreciated from the following detaileddescription of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the screw conveyor steamer of thepresent invention, partly in section, to illustrate the overallarrangement of the parts thereof;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, looking in the direction of thearrows 22 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line3-3 in FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate like parts throughout the several views thereof, there isillustrated the screw conveyor steamer of the present inventiongenerally designated by the reference character 10. Scallops, still intheir shells, may be conveyed via a conveyor belt 11 from a measuringdevice or the like into hopper 12 which is in direct communication withthe interior of the screw conveyor steamer.

The screw conveyor steamer comprises an outer jacket 13 of generallycylindrical shape, having disposed therewithin and coaxially therewithan inner jacket 15 having symmetrically, circumferentially disposedorifices 15a in its surface. Orifices 15a are large enough to permit theusually encountered debris to pass therethrough but not large enough topass a fullsized scallop. Extending coaxially with outer jacket 13 andinner jacket 15, is screw conveyor which is driven by variable speedhydraulic motor 16 and driving member 17. As screw conveyor 20 rotates,scallops fed to the conveyor by hopper 12 will be conveyed upwardly andto the right, as viewed in FIG. 1, at a speed determined by theprevailing conditions, such as scallop size, relative cleanliness andthe like.

In communication with outer jacket 13 are steam lines 14 for forcingsteam under pressure through orifices 15a and into contact with theouter surfaces of the scallops as they are conveyed along by conveyor20. The steam, which is conventionally controlled to be at a temperaturebetween 215 and 240 F., thus is applied to the outer surface of thescallops in a substantially 360 pattern, insuring that all the dirt,bamacles and the like are removed from the surface of the scallops andthe bacteria is killed. The tumbling action induced by the screwconveyor as the scallops pass along the length of inner jacket 15, alsoinsures that the cleansing and sterilizing action is thorough, since adifferent surface of the scallop shell is constantly being presented tothe steam entering through orifices 15a.

The end wall, shown at the left in FIG. 1, of the screw conveyor steameris closed by plate 23 held in place by reinforcing ribs 21. Exit orifice22 is provided in plate 23 to permit the debris to be washed out andaway by the steam condensate on the inner walls of outer jacket 13.Since the screw conveyor steamer is downwardly inclined toward the left,as viewed in FIG. 1, the debris will naturally be carried away from thesystem.

Cleaned and sterilized scallops will exit through chute l8 and on tofurther conveyor 19 for additional processing.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described, thoseskilled in the art will readily perceive other veriations which may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A cleaning conveying apparatus for shellfish comprising anouterjacket, an inner jacket, means for applying steam from the exterior ofthe outer jacket to the interior of the inner jacket, conveying meansdisposed within the inner jacket, and means for feeding shellfish to theinterior of the inner jacket, wherein said conveying means comprises ascrew conveyor and means for driving said screw conveyor, wherein saidinner and outer jackets are substantially cylindrical and coaxiallymounted and said screw conveyor is axially mounted with respect to saidjackets, wherein said means for applying steam includes a plurality oforifices in said inner jacket, wherein said jackets and conveyor aredisposed at an angle to the horizontal to facilitate the removal ofdebris, and wherein said outer jacket has an end wall at its lower end,said end wall having an exit orifice at its lower portion to permitdebris to be washed out and away by the steam condensate forming on theinside wall surface of the outer jacket.

2. The cleaning and conveying apparatus set forth in claim 1, furtherincluding means for removing said shellfish from said inner jacket afterthey have traversed the length of said screw conveyor.

1. A cleaning conveying apparatus for shellfish comprising an outerjacket, an inner jacket, means for applying steam from the exterior ofthe outer jacket to the interior of the inner jacket, conveying meansdisposed within the inner jacket, and means for feeding shellfish to theinterior of the inner jacket, wherein said conveying means comprises ascrew conveyor and means for driving said screw conveyor, wherein saidinner and outer jackets are substantially cylindrical and coaxiallymounted and said screw conveyor is axially mounted with respect to saidjackets, wherein said means for applying steam includes a plurality oforifices in said inner jacket, wherein said jackets and conveyor aredisposed at an angle to the horizontal to facilitate the removal ofdebris, and wherein said outer jacket has an end wall at its lower end,said end wall having an exit orifice at its lower portion to permitdebris to be washed out and away by the steam condensate forming on theinside wall surface of the outer jacket.
 2. The cleaning and conveyingapparatus set forth in claim 1, further including means for removingsaid shellfish from said inner jacket after they have traversed thelength of said screw conveyor.